OFFICIAL GAME 16: SMU vs. ECU Thread

[lollaperuna]

I was really impressed with the ECU crowd. They had a lot of students and they were into the game. Impressive for a team 0-3 in conference play.

That place is very similar to Moody and Cameron in that it can get really loud. If they ever hire a coach that can put a winning team on that court it will be very difficult to win there.

[Grant Carter]

I heard that too and convinced myself that it had to be ECU.

It was definitely SMU.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Did anyone else notice LB throw his fists in the air when Wilfong hit that three?

[Pony64]

Did anyone else notice LB throw his fists in the air when Wilfong hit that three?

Anyone have a video link of it. DVR missed end of game.

[PonyTime]

We were ECU's top draw of the year: Attendance 6,022.

We will be Tulane's top draw of the year in a few days...

Did not realize how bad it was for Tulane when it comes to attendance:
UCONN: 2,005
GA Tech 2,005
UNO (Cross town rival): 1,581

[Pony64]

Did anyone else notice LB throw his fists in the air when Wilfong hit that three?

Anyone have a video link of it. DVR missed end of game.

found it:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/video?gameId=400835261

[sadderbudweiser]

We were ECU's top draw of the year: Attendance 6,022.

We will be Tulane's top draw of the year in a few days...

Did not realize how bad it was for Tulane when it comes to attendance:
UCONN: 2,005
GA Tech 2,005
UNO (Cross town rival): 1,581

And on top of that their students, who were into it during the first half, all bailed during the third quarter last year.

[lollaperuna]

You gotta love it. ECU seems to bring out the best in Wilfong because that's who he got his steal and dunk against as well.

[Grant Carter]

I am sure they are wondering why he does not play more since all they see from him is a mix of steals, dunks and 3s.

[lollaperuna]

They now dread Wilfong Time!!

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

First, I respect ECU. They kind of remind me of Southern Miss. Quality athletics programs, dedicated fans and good alumni support, and pretty consistent success (in football) despite being denied the seat at the big table that their in-state brethren have (Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest). When they are given the chance to play those schools or the Virginia P5 schools, ECU has acquitted itself well over the years.

Second, watching the game last night was fascinating to me. ECU has a mediocre bball team this year, but the fans came out for this one and the energy was high. Why?. . . because SMU came to town. For all my SMU life before the last few years, that was us. The mediocre program with no post-season prospects that drew poorly for the most part. Except when it was Memphis, or Texas Tech, etc. Then there would be some energy, a larger crowd. And the Ponies would put up a valiant fight most of the time. But the result of those games was inevitable.

the result of last night's game was also inevitable. But the ECU base was momentarily excited by the prospect of hosting the Number 10 SMU Mustangs on national TV. When their team put up a good fight at the end of the first half, the crowd was fired up. Even though they never threatened to actually take control of the game. The fact that we are now the source of that excitement for other, lesser bball programs frankly amazes me. Wait until we're on the road at Cincy, Memphis, or UConn. Those places will be nuts (and to clarify, I do not view Cincy, Memphis, or UConn as "lesser programs" at all. . .they are elite in my book).

Finally, who knows if we go undefeated this year. To do that, we still have to beat UConn twice, UH twice, Memphis twice, Cincy on the road, and Gonzaga. That is a tall order for any program. . .much less a program with only 7 scholarship guys. If we manage to pull it off, this will be an epic SMU athletics moment for the ages. We'll need to call this team "The Magnificent Seven" or something like that, along the same lines as "The Pony Express." But regardless, this is the most fun I've ever had as an SMU basketball fan. Whether they go undefeated or not, this team is awesome.

[friarwolf]

UH is the one that scares me.........

[Charleston Pony]

as the last unbeaten team, pressure will build game to game for these guys

[gostangs]

UH in Houston. They always seem to give us a game (or beat us) even when they have a much lesser team.

[DiamondM]

Anyone have a video link of it. DVR missed end of game.

How could this happen? The game took 1 hour and 40 mintues (I know because we checked on then DVR time bar) -- super short by basketball standards, and the allotted slot was 2 hours I think. Husband commented on how fast this (and other) SMU games have been. They even had time to show post game interviews before cutting to the warm ups for the next game.